The Granby
by Hallenee
Summary: Jayne visits a bar and gets a rather unexpected surprise. HIATUS lost chapters when my hard drive crashed
1. Chapter 1

Jayne had never had a problem admitting that the feng le girl had gone and grown up pretty nice in the time she'd been on board. Hell, she wasn't even that crazy anymore! However seeing her like this, no matter how growned up she was, he would be going straight to that Special Hell that Book had been so fond of.

He hadn't meant to be looking at her like this. He'd left the ship, like the rest of the crew, after a long time in the Black and some credits to spend. Whilst the doc' and Kaylee had gone to some fancy hotel for the night and Mal and Zoe were doing whatever it was they did, Jayne decided that he needed a stiff drink and some trim. That had led to his current predicament.

He had noticed that the little crazy woman suddenly had more coin although he had chalked that up to her helping on jobs and getting her own payment. He hadn't imagined that _this_ was how she was getting the nice dresses and soft shoes. Then again, if he had paid any attention to her he would have noticed how she never left the boat when all the others left for shore leave and so never saw her as she 'dressed up'. Now he had, he wasn't saw he'd ever get it out of his head. Those tiny shorts and that very tight top were gonna be ingrained in his brain forever.

The bar that he had decided to frequent tonight was called The Granby, an innocuous sounding name. Inside though was less innocent, far less innocent. And if the way River was dancing around that stage, so was she! From the back of the bar all Jayne could see was a waif like creature teasing all the men in the room. Usually Jayne didn't like them so thin and gangly, he preferred curves he could hold but that girl was hot. It was only as he started moving his way forwards that he realised the dancer he had so admired was in fact his partner in crime. A nineteen year old girl who he should be looking upon as a sister or niece, definitely not the thoughts he was having now!

He turned to leave as he remembered, too late, that the girl was a gorram reader and would be able to listen in on everything going on in his head. She had explained to him how 'loud' thoughts made it through the shield she had built back up and he was fairly certain that these counted as loud. Especially as the other participant in them paused and looked him straight in the eyes. Oh yes, too late.


	2. Chapter 2

River was just starting her final dance as he entered the bar. She could feel him there, his brain being one she knew a lot better than any of the others in the room. She could hear his thoughts as he got closer, as he realised it was her dancing and not a random whore. She heard as he turned to leave and to stop his thoughts. She had to stop that or else her new plan would be ruined.

As she stared into his eyes she felt something inside him click. Fear started to overtake the lust he had felt only moments previously. The climax of her song was building and she decided to give her routine a little more kick, all the while still keeping her gaze locked on to his. The crowd went wild as she finished her routine; none of the drunken patrons seemed to notice that she was now only dancing for one man amongst them. Except that is, that one man although he daren't to believe it. Despite her dancing in that way, she was still too young for him, too pure.

River heard all this as she walked off stage. She changed quickly into a dress she kept for when she was working in these clubs. It was a deep sapphire blue and showed off rather a lot of cleavage and her lean thighs. She walked out to get a drink knowing that Jayne would not leave without her being with him. He just didn't realise in what manner they'd be together tonight.

River had grown up in the last year since Miranda. With Mal and Zoe out of commission for the first few months and Simon being occupied by Kaylee, River was more or less left to her own devices which suited her fine. Over this time she had strengthened her mental barriers and could now keep most emotions out. She also took the opportunity to get back into shape. The Alliance might have made her into a weapon before she was ready for it but now that she could use it to her advantage, it made sense to keep in top shape.

Three months after the events of Miranda it was River's nineteenth birthday. Simon had remembered and the crew had thrown a small party. It was nowhere near as grand as her coming out party would have been had she still been on Osiris but she found that it suited her far better. She received some credit for more books on the cortex from Simon and assorted items from the rest of the crew. Nothing that signalled that they realised she was now legally a woman and legally responsible for anything she wanted to do. It was then that she decided that if the others would not treat her like an adult then she would work for some extra credit and find people who would.

Still, she wondered if Jayne would understand when he asked her later. It was inevitable that he _would_ ask, she just wasn't sure as to when. Jayne had always been difficult to place. Whilst others, her brother being the best example, might take Jayne as a simple minded fool, he was incredibly complex. He was ruled by both his baser instincts and a strict morality that she couldn't quite figure out. Didn't matter to her though, she'd have gotten over that issue before the morning came around.


End file.
